Regional airline Flybe has seen its turnaround plans take-off resulting in its planes being three-quarters full after it ditched loss-making routes and stepped up fare promotions.

The Exeter-based carrier's load factor jumped to 75.8 per cent in the quarter to June 30, up from 66.5 per cent a year earlier as it benefits from the turnaround drive.

In June, the airline posted annual profits for the first time in four years announcing a pretax profit of £8.1million compared to a loss of £41.1million a year earlier.

Rise: The airline, which serves around 35 UK airports having reduced its number of bases from 13 to seven in the last year, said passenger revenues per seat rose

First quarter trading figures today signaled
further progress, helped by last summer's launch of 11 new routes and a
major brand refresh in April when it unveiled aircraft in a new purple
livery.

The low-cost airline, which serves around 35 UK airports having reduced its number of bases from 13 to seven in the last year, said passenger revenues per seat rose 9.5 per cent in the quarter to £52.79.

This was achieved after a route overhaul reduced capacity by 17.2 per cent to 2.5 million seats for the quarter to June 30.

It also cut the average fare paid per passenger in an effort to drive demand.

Chief executive Saad Hammad said: ‘We have achieved a significant amount in the quarter, with substantially more to do in the months ahead.’

Flybe shares have risen 17 per cent so far this year but were lower in late afternoon trade, with an earlier 2 per cent advance reversed.

Impact: Both IAG and low-cost airline easyJet shares were hit by a surprise Lufthansa warning last month

As part of the turnaround drive, the regional airline was forced to trim jobs which saw 30 per cent of staff shed resulting in the loss of 1,100 jobs.

Mr Hammad saidhe was ‘sad’ to lose staff but added: ‘I’m determined that these sacrifices are not in vain’.

Flybe adopted a host of other incentives - included offering customers free chocolate.

The airline also made a promise that passengers who were delayed by more than 60 minutes have 60 days to apply for a £60 voucher on future flights.

While Mr Hammad hails his airline's recent success as the 'rebirth of Flybe' it’s been a turbulent few months for airline stocks.

Last month, shares in London-listed blue chip airlines International Airlines Group (IAG), the owner of British Airways and Iberia, and discount carrier easyJet fell sharply after Germany's Lufthansa issued a dire profit warning which cast a cloud over the recently high-flying sector.

In April, easyjet's shares climbed to a record altitude as it reported rising passenger numbers for the 26th month in a row.

The orange airline carried 5.1million passengers in March, a 4.8 per cent increase on 4.9million from the same month of last year.

Aside from the blue chip stocks, the
sector malaise even had an impact on Flybe last month.